Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said that the Premier League title is Liverpool’s to lose.
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After City’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (31), Liverpool opened up a two-point gap to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, after Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Brighton 2-1 at Anfield earlier in the day.
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The draw left City three points behind leaders Liverpool with nine games to go, and Guardiola admitted that the prospect of an unprecedented fourth title in a row was out of his hands.
Guardiola was asked if Liverpool were now the title favorites and he said: “Yes. Always who is first is favorite. Second is Arsenal and we are third. It’s not in our hands. All we can do is think of Aston Villa [on Wednesday]”.
The manager also admitted his side had struggled to penetrate Arsenal’s low block and joked that they would have to do something illegal to get past Mikel Arteta’s stubborn side. “The low block was really difficult [to play against]. We prefer to win obviously but we take the draw.”